So I had these old bras and wanted some new thongs. I used everything except the cups. The shoulder straps make for a great waist adjusters. The black thongs has straps that are interchangeable.
I saw a Mini Top Hat tutorial by Thread Banger and just had to try it. Mostly hot glue with very little sewing, fabric/bias tape/wiring for the brim/cardboard for the body. The button is a Medusa Head by Versace; I glued some crystals around the buttons.
I like buttons but the problem is when they hung on a chain, the button would tilt forward and down. By taking, from an old watch, the latch that is inserted into the hole, I placed it into the hoop in the back of the button. It's held by tension so I didn't have to solder but I did put a little glue. Now I have an attachment hoop at the top of the button so it won't flip over.
After seeing the Thread Banger's Baby Doll's Sucker Punch Box Pleat Skirt With Yoke tutorial http://www.youtube.com/user/ThreadBanger#p/a/u/1/MzebksedZAo I decided to give this a go. I saw Sucker Punch and loved the wardrobes of each of the characters. So I had a pair of gray pants that was too small for me and couldn't think of what to do with this. Saw the tutorial and decided why not.
I deconstructed the pants to see how much material I could use
Usually you want to just box pleat (fold & iron) the fabric until you have enough, and then some, to go around you. However, since the scraps I was working with were already cut to a certain length, I had to improvise. From each side of each leg, I cut out 9 9"x9" squares (1 & 1/2 legs back & front) and folded/ironed flat the 2"s on 2 sides of the squares, giving me a folded 4"x9" rectangle. Then, using the rest of the pant leg, I cut 9 4"x9" rectangles. So with the cut 4"x9" rectangles laying between and underneath each folded 4"x9" rectangle, I stitched all the ends together. I hemmed one side, to be the bottom, and ran a straight stitch on top to hold the pleats together. The rest of the pants I used for the yoke. I didn't use any zippers or actual closure but that's my choice. Below is the result:
Since I do sew a lot, I thought it would be cool to try some photography to show off some of my wares. I don't have a lot of money to buy professional photography backdrop etc. So what I did was I piece together some velcro to some home decor hooks (the adhesives on the hooks can be a bit damaging to the walls) and measured both about 8 ft high on the wall. I then took two bathroom curtains and taped them end to end, giving me about 70"W x 140"L (5'10"W x 11'8"L) to work with. Using some duct tape, create a sleeve at one end to slide a curtain rod. Hang on wall hooks and there ya go...instant photo backdrop.
Update: poster shout4joy made a wonderful suggestion of using Command hooks in place of velcro. That totally slipped my mind and would be a great substitute. Thank you.
I found that some $1.50 laundry bags (unused or washed) can be a great source of fabric. I stand at 5'5" and this just about my pant length. The zippers are from another upcycle but I took my other cargo pants, fold them in half length wise and use that as my pattern. For me, the difficult part was the zipper flap and instead of using a button at the waist, I used a piece of velcro.
Oh, I also stenciled the gray strips onto the turtle neck sleeves. I love the end look.
I always wanted a Ushanka hat. I had some fur in my inventory and decided to use them. The white-ish fur is imitation yack fur (in NYC fabric destrict, only one store sells it and it cost me $40/yd) and the other fur is some sort of nice thick black fake fur. Both soft and of great quality.
Unfortunately I pulled this together during the NYC heatwave during July.
It's basically done in 2 pieces, the outter shell (the black fur) and the inner lining (imitation yack fur). After measuring out the fur (about the size of my head), I placed the layers together (right sides facing each other), fold & pinned, placed the pattern on top and cut.
When working with fur, keep in mind two things 1: Wear protective googles cause the little pieces of fur will get into unprotective eyes 2: While sewing (easier to start along the ear flaps), pinch the edges so that the grain of the fur lays sideways and flat, to lessen the bulk on the seam.
I left the top unsewn to fit the depth. After I flipped the piece right side out, I placed the hat on my head, sized the depth and pinned a separate round piece(measured to the circumference of my head), then sewn closed. Also did the latter for the outter shell but hand sewn.
I think I made the flaps too long, though.
Can't wait for it to really snow and freeze. Enjoy!!!
I had to make this. I'm a big Red vs Blue fan; hell, Halo in general (although I don't get to play very often). Anyways, I constructed this out of a $15 pair of size 9 jeans, mesh is left overs from my upcycled inFamous jacket (get that up here soon) and a $.99 thermal shirt for the inside. I wanted "water-proofed" so I lined the inner "inside" of the 2 bag pockets with duct tape. Then some stenciling; I can't say enough for contact paper for stencilling.
I'm very particular with seams; I try and hide them. So trying to sew up the inner bag (2 zippers, 2 pockets to hold books, laptop, etc.) and the sides proved a bit difficult with this first trial run.
I was lucky to fine the zippers from an old CD storage case I nearly chucked into the garbage. In keeping with down-sizing while upcycling, dismantled the CD case and saved the parts for supplies.
Update: I have recently been commissioned to make 2 of these bags. I have been able to make 2 of these messenger bags out of a one yard of fabric (outer shell, $3 yd), one laundry bag (enough to divide the inside into 2 pockets per bag, $1.50), the strap adjuster and buckles ($10). Total: $14.50 for 2 bags.
I made several attempts but the lines were never this clean. What I did was that I made several (layer) stencils from contact paper (bought in a hardware store; the kitchen section). I'm amazed at some of the details, both thin and small (the monkey on the pistol handle measured only 3/4 of an inch), one can cut out (with an Xacto knife, of course). I cut out each layer while the first film of paint dried.
On the inside of the shirt, I placed lines of duct tape because, in my previous attempts, the paint brush would pull some of the shirt thru the stencil and the paint would bleed to the side. This will allow the fabric to be somewhat stiff and protect the rest of the shirt. I find that less paint bleeds thru the shirt using this method.
I also figured my problem was how I painted; instead of brushing side to side, I kindof did little up and down jabs (perpendicular to the shirt surface).
The paint required 2 coats; it'll crack in places which is what u want. After the paint dried, I placed a sheet of paper (the contact paper backing that it sticks to) ontop of the shirt and ironed it for at least a min.; when curing paint (so it doesn't wash out), always place a wax sheet btw the shirt and iron so it doesn't burn the paint.
Lol, I also can't seem to get this monkey off my back (joke)!
Haven't posted a while cause some of the staff doesn't like me...but, oh well.
I came across a drawing of a Garrett plushie. Now Garrett is a master thief from the Thief video game series. I had to make myself one cuse I love the game. I only had made 2 rag dolls and wanted to make another one, just more with a limp feel to him.
What I did was to take a folded piece of clothe and cut out the frame in one piece. Basically, lacking a pic, the pattern is fairly simple. Just make the arms and legs in a wide triangle formation. --------------------------------I---CUT---I -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Keep the neck fairly short/non existant. Sew along the edges, of course, and sew along the "I---CUT---I" to give it some legs. Leave an opening and pull the material inside out; start filling in with stuffing. I stuffed mine with fabric scraps so the rag doll has some weight to it; I find cotton stuffing to be too light weight. To close the open seam, I used a type of stitch, not sure what it's called, by which I stitched along the inside fold of the seam so when it's taunt, the stitch dissappears. For the hair, I like yarn but it's hard to sew it. I basically lined up the pieces of yarn and sewn thru the yarn onto the head. After I sewn the clothes, this is what I got I also made the blue pearl camero necklace in this pic. I attached each pearl by putting a piece of wire (can get those at a craft store, where the earrings are) and, using pliers, created loops at each end of the wire for the next pearl to attach to. Enjoy!!!
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